University of Delaware (UD) researchers have managed to crank up the efficiency of silicon solar cells to a record-breaking 42.8 percent under standard terrestrial sunlight conditions. The new record is an important milestone on the path to the 50 percent efficiency goal set by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under its Very High […]
With the cost of fossil fuels rising, attention is once again turning to organic solar cells, which can produce electricity much more cheaply than conventional silicon based solar cells. However, organic polymer solar cells have to date been plagued by low efficiency, typically converting the sun’s energy to electricity at levels of around 1 or […]
Trips to distant parts of the solar system could become commonplace with magnetized-beam plasma propulsion, or mag-beam, said Robert Winglee, a University of Washington professor who is leading the research. “We’re trying to get to Mars and back in 90 days,” Winglee said. “Our philosophy is that, if it’s going to take two-and-a-half years, the […]
